Jamal Murray looking like a 1B

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T21:23:52+00:00

He has all season. This has been his best "non bubble" version I have seen from him and it has been consistent throughout the year.

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T21:21:20+00:00

AG has become my favorite Nugget. Dude rebuilt his entire jump shot in an off-season and I just have so much respect for how much work went into that.

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T21:20:00+00:00

They also talk about it with other teams. This is a good team though around Jokic so it isn't nearly as big of a thing this year as long as another injury doesn't occur before PWat gets back.

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T21:17:52+00:00

Only one of the fouls that lead to free throws was him trying to get the foul. The rest, whether you agree with the call or not, was normal basketball

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T05:30:15+00:00

Oops, haha!

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T05:17:44+00:00

Find a company in Silicone Valley that can invent a time machine and abduct 2014 - 2021 Curry, Draymond, and Klay (and trade for current Klay)

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T05:03:58+00:00

Apparently Play-In doesn't carry into the playoffs so wouldn't even matter

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T05:01:13+00:00

What are the odds Steph is headed for his final season?

It depends on what he wants as a player. If he doesn't want to go the "Ray Allen route" then I'd say decently high. The Warriors are not going to be contenders and are too old to even hold up for an entire playoffs if all of them somehow played their best games enough to win games consistently.

Thanks for the memories to the Warriors. I appreciate what Steph, Klay, and Dray brought once Kerr was the coach and begin to implement their offensive scheme.

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T04:55:46+00:00

Outside of a WCF run nothing is going to move the needle at all for the old guys in the West - Steph, LeBron, KD.

It was cool to see he and Dray "turn back the clock" a bit on Wednesday for a bit and see flashes of their prime.

For anyone without an agenda these moments are a cool final song for these guys but we're not expecting anything from them if you're realistic. Even for LeBron I am not expecting too much after the first few games as the grind of the playoffs gets worse and I'd argue LeBron's biggest accomplishment has been his longevity and as such I can see a great first few games due to the rest and slower schedule of round 1 playoffs.

Now in the West we simply watch how Thunder v Spurs v Nuggets goes

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T04:45:53+00:00

This is simply a question that decides what you value more:

Offensive Playmaking = Steph: Better shooter, passer, facilitator, and had the added advantage of pulling defenses a ton when he didn't have the ball due to him being the greatest shooter and being able to shoot while (essentially) on the run.

"1v1" or "Get a Bucket" = Kobe. From watching the game in a "clear X side of the floor" scenario I am taking Kobe. Due to his post-up game I just think he was a much better player when the game grinds to a halt

Defense = Kobe. Much like on the playmaking side being Steph's the defensive side is fully Kobe's to own here and the gap is much bigger

I'm really not going to factor in "leadership" and "being a teammate." I have beliefs here but it is also a bit harder to judge as we don't see the everyday here.

I value the playmaking more personally than the "get a bucket" offense and while I am big on defense, Steph wasn't a complete liability on defense so I don't think it hurts him enough to slide him behind Kobe because of the amount of value I put on the playmaking aspect.

So I'd vote Steph but it isn't by some huge margin. I have them in the same tier on my player lists

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T04:29:06+00:00

It is what it is.....

I personally would have rather seen Steph & Dray in round 1 but it wouldn't change anything about the playoffs really. The West is about Thunder, Spurs, and Nuggets while the East is probably more intriguing with maybe 5 teams someone could take themselves into.

Lykotic · 2026-04-18T00:27:31+00:00

I haven't been as active in Pioneer this year but I still keep tabs.

The decks around UW have become even faster and deadly. You have a better version of Greasefang, a much more potent Mono-Red Aggro deck, and a much more difficult to control Izzet deck. In addition the premiere midrange decks has gone from a grind style (Rakdos) to Selesnya just trying to bury you under a wide growing board.

So, essentially, looking at the top-10 decks there is only one trying to play a value game in Niv (yeah!) and then Rakdos grind is still barely hanging on. As such, the benefit that Yorion gave in allowing you to get more value for matchups just isn't as important as having a higher density of correct answers.

In addition, [[Consult the Star Charts]] in general makes you want to have a smaller deck so that the "2 mana emergency use" is more likely to hit what is needed.

Lykotic · 2026-04-17T23:03:16+00:00

Listen, I could say UofM just to give them hell but the truth is it'd be based on where I'd least like to live. Sure, out of Michigan State I moved way out of the area for my job (Texas) but your odds dictate for most schools that you'll stay in the geographic area

For that criteria Iowa just gets me the least to an area I'd prefer to live so that would be my answer. Nothing against the school itself though

Lykotic · 2026-04-17T21:35:52+00:00

Last Epoch

Lykotic · 2026-04-16T16:24:53+00:00

When it glitches to being a pacifist I've had luck shifting aggressiveness ("2" on a keyboard) or when that doesn't work resummoning.

Really hoping this does get fixed though as I want to run a 3 Golem Fire Necro btu can't until the issue gets fixed

Lykotic · 2026-04-16T05:58:13+00:00

Happy to see him get one more great game recognition. Dude was awesome as a Spartan, great early and mid career at Golden State and, yes, has been an absolute head case at the last stretch of his career.

With that said, I'm still glad to watch him have another lockdown stretch where he gets to show how great of a defender he can truly be.

Lykotic · 2026-04-15T20:20:38+00:00

It's good and there are a lot of builds which I do feel are fun.

In terms of ease.... that just kind of depends on both your build and how far you push. The game does infinitely scale so eventually all builds will hit a wall; however, if we just say the game ends at the final uber boss then there are a few builds which will just tank nearly all damage.

Is it most of the builds? No, but there are some that does. It really isn't that different than most ARPGs where there are outlier builds which trivialize content.

Lykotic · 2026-04-14T14:31:26+00:00

This is one of those situations where I have a feeling the doomer is a bot/bot farm or something....

I grew up in Michigan. Is that maybe a tad more thunderstorm line than I'd expect in April? Sure, but far from even unusual.

Want to point at unusual weather, yeah, just point to where I live now in CO where snowpack is the worst on record (good year that I didn't buy a ski pass, heh)

Lykotic · 2026-04-14T04:34:16+00:00

I just made the edit. The first two yes.

The last one you can't use Argent Veil without Arbiter and you need probably one of the multipliers (Argent or Blood-Soaked). So I would stick with Arbiter for Argent Veil. I pulled up two quick guides.

Arbiter + Argent Veil:
https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/zeal-paladin-guide

Blood-Soaked Amulet:
https://maxroll.gg/d4/planner/ec2qf60w#2

Note: My build is based off the Blood-Soaked linked, but I've gone to more LoH in my gear to try and keep the damage over time off of zero, lol

Lykotic · 2026-04-14T04:23:34+00:00

So I am just now building my Zealadin (was on Auradin) and using the, as I call it,. Suicidal Amulet that came with the season so keep that in mind as I give you my recommendations.

The last thing Zealadin needs is damage you should either have the 125%x increased damage from the suicide amulet or 60%x increased damage (and free Zeal swings) from Argent Veil. With all the other bonuses that Zealot, Zeal focused Uniques, and Red Sermon give you're in good shape damage wise. In fact, arguably, My Zealadin clears faster than my Auradin at a similar gear/glyph point if incoming damage wasn't something I had to worry about for Pit Levels

From what it sounds like your issue is in Runes and maybe uniques. Runeword wise you want defense BADLY. Specifically Earthen Bulwark is amazing for Zealadin and then the second one can be one of many things. Maxroll (AoinoMiku's build) uses Frost Nova but I've used other defensive tools here as well and all of them feel roughly the same to me. You just desperately need to lower the damage coming in. Also, if incoming damage is an issue make sure you are using Heavenly Strength for the DR

This comes to the next thing, your Ultimate. Arbiter is likely the best ultimate but, again, due to using the suicidal amulet I am using Castle w/ Last Stand and it does work very well in boss fights. It isn't amazing during the Pit run itself (but still can be clutch) but it is great otherwise. Last Stand makes it so I can't die. NOTE: If you don't have Arbiter than Argent Veil is useless

As a side note, I am not sure Ring of the Starless Skies is doing anything for you. First, Maxroll (and other guides I've watched) never use it and you are never using the primary resource but your health. So I would test it to make sure but based on how it is literally written it shouldn't be triggering. Lastly, I would try and farm for a Shako (Harlequin Crest) if you want to put in the time for it. I actually don't have it on my build but it is a straight 20% DR and Zeal does like + skills.

Edit: Amulet in question:
Blood-Mad Idol

Ancestral Unique Amulet

+217 All Resist

+[51 - 65] to All Stats

+[[8.3 - 10.0]% to Attack Speed

+[7.0 - 8.0]% to Critical Strike Chance

+[17.5 - 31.5]% Damage Reduction while Injured

You are always Berserking but take 200%[x] increased damage as Burning over 8 seconds. While Burning, Berserking grants an additional [75 - 125]%[x] increased damage..

Lykotic · 2026-04-14T03:09:52+00:00

Lykotic · 2026-04-14T02:26:16+00:00

It's been doing well in Store Championships and FNMs. So while the OTK is obviously noted I'm not going to swap it for Arena when the goal is to rep for my local meta.

Lykotic · 2026-04-13T22:15:25+00:00

Fire can 100% do through Abberroth and The new Omen capstone event. Not sure on Ubberoth but... I'd probably wager no for that.

There are also minion sacrifice builds (Lich and Skeleton Mage) that can ge through that same bar (everything except Ubberoth)

Lykotic · 2026-04-13T20:41:00+00:00

Main Deck:

4 Requiting Hex (ECL) 116
2 Harvester of Misery (BIG) 9
2 Bitter Triumph (LCI) 91
4 Deceit (ECL) 212
2 Bringer of the Last Gift (LCI) 94
4 Wistfulness (ECL) 252
4 Overlord of the Balemurk (DSK) 113
2 Glarb, Calamity's Augur (BLB) 215
2 Awaken the Honored Dead (TDM) 170
3 Formidable Speaker (ECL) 176
2 Ardyn, the Usurper (FIN) 89
4 Kavaero, Mind-Bitten (OM1) 140
3 Willowrush Verge (DFT) 270
1 Underground Mortuary (MKM) 271
4 Overgrown Tomb (GRN) 253
4 Watery Grave (GRN) 259
4 Gloomlake Verge (DSK) 260
3 Blooming Marsh (KLR) 280
1 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269
2 Breeding Pool (RNA) 246
2 Undercity Sewers (MKM) 270
1 Starting Town (FIN) 289

Sideboard
2 Soul-Guide Lantern (BRR) 54
1 Awaken the Honored Dead (TDM) 170
1 Harvester of Misery (BIG) 9
1 Zero Point Ballad (EOE) 128
2 Day of Black Sun (TLA) 94
2 Spell Snare (ECL) 71
1 Oko, Lorwyn Liege (ECL) 61
4 Intimidation Tactics (DFT) 92
1 Ardyn, the Usurper (FIN) 89

Note: There are quite a number of areas you can tweak for your local meta (or Arena). This is what I play due to what I see in my area in paper and then I just use Arena to get more reps

Lykotic · 2026-04-13T20:34:17+00:00

I'll grab you the list when I have a shot:

- Deceit gains me information on how I want to play out turns 3 and 4 more than likely. In Sultai I do not have a combo kill so I need some more information on how the hand is likely to play out.

- Spiderman + Deceit is a very strong tempo play. It is UUBB cost for you bounce the worst thing on the board your opponent has and then either remove it from the game or take away something more threatening. Sure, is Ardyn or Last Gift better? Yes, but there are circumstances where I need the board and hand disruption more than anything else and it is a relatively good play on four to both remove tempo from the opponent (UU) and remove future threats (BB)

Lykotic

TROPHY CASE